Finding Out
by Curious Archer
Summary: The story of how Zelena and Hook find out about their daughters relationship. One more innocently than the other. A Threeshot. Curious Archer. Complete.
1. Zelena

The house was almost completely quiet. All the animals had just been fed and so were mostly dozing and sluggishly quiet, while Zelena had decided to go out for the day to meet with her sister. It had been a while since the two of them had a chance to sit and talk about things other than villains and disasters or curses looming over their heads. Robin had originally been out as well, hunting and taking a few spare hours in her day to practice her shooting in order to keep her skills sharp. Or at least that was what she had told her mother she was doing that morning when she left. In reality she was actually using that as an excuse in order to go and meet with her girlfriend in secret.

They had met in the usual place; a clear opening deep in the woods, a little far off from the main trail, some time after noon just as they had planned the week before. After their initial greeting, the two girls took a slow walk through the woods to their favourite little spot by the river where they sat down and dipped their feet into the cool water for a few minutes, catching up with one another on their past week. On a spontaneous whim, Robin had then invited Alice back to her place, knowing her mother wouldn't be back for a few more hours at the very least, giving them some much preferred privacy. It would be the first time that Robin would be bringing anyone home like this. It would also time Alice had ever been invited to someone's home as well. Needless to say, both girls were a little nervous.

"How long have you lived here?" Alice asked as they approached the gates of Robin's home. She had no idea what to expect, knowing only that Robin lived on a small farm like closure with just her mother – her father had died not long after she was born and her half brother lived in another land.

"For a few years now." Robin shrugged, locking the gates behind them before she led Alice inside. "We lived in Storybrooke for most of my childhood but after I got older, around the time when I could look after myself-" She held up her bow as proof, "-Mum moved us out here."

"How come?" Alice asked, following along beside her.

"We just got tired of the happy little town life." Robin explained. "I wanted more adventure, to go to a place where I could be close to my father and mum was never a fan of Storybrooke to begin with. Even less after Aunt Regina and Belle both left. She got on with the other people there okay but she wasn't exactly friends with any of them. Not really."

For some reason, Alice had expected a bigger house, but instead it seemed Robin and her mother lived in a cosy little cottage that was only a couple feet bigger than the main room in Alice's tower. And it was truly cosy rather than small, it was the kind of building that was purposely avoiding being too large because it neither needed nor wanted to be. Robin stepped ahead and opened the smooth wooden door, stepping inside to a long corridor that had doors either side and a single set of stairs at the end, leading to the second floor. Alice had half expected the house to be various shades of green after all she had heard about the Wicked Witch and seeing Robin's usual clothing choice, which was personally fit and coloured for the appropriate camouflage a huntress might need out in the woods. Instead the hallway had brown floorboards and a light brown, almost sunset orange wall paint with golden lights hanging overhead that lit up the hallway brilliantly. It was very warm and inviting and Alice felt an immediate longing that she couldn't quite put into words.

"Would you like me to show you around?" Robin asked, hanging her cloak with the others on the hooks by the door before offering to take Alice's.

"Sure." Alice grinned, looking around excitedly at the doors either side.

Robin couldn't help but smile at her. There were many things about Alice that drew Robin to her, and one of the top things was just how excitable she always was. After years of living trapped in a tower with only her father for company, almost any new experience got a rise out of Alice in the most positive way and Robin loved it. She was just so much fun to be around, so giddy even, and it pulled out the best in Robin even on her worst days.

The house may have been simply cosy but that didn't mean it wasn't well decorated, never being overly stuffed with things or too empty at the same time. Everything was finely designed, all with matching colours and materials that complimented each other perfectly, making the rooms look nice as well as comfortable. The living room was closest and was probably the most stuffed with sofa chairs, an open fireplace and a short coffee table between with an open clear window view of the front garden that took up most of the wall with the other wall covered almost completely in a stuffed bookshelf. Opposite was the dining room where an old fashion table sat with several matching chairs surrounding it, even if most of the chairs went unused as they never had enough people round at a single time, with a fancy bowl of green apples sitting at its centre and matching flowers standing in each corner of the room. Further down was the kitchen which was probably the most empty of all the rooms with plain counters lining the wall and a couple of cupboards that seemed like they were mostly bare, and Alice could only imagine that Zelena probably used magic for most of her cooking.

"This rooms always locked." Robin explained, waving a hand to the room opposite the kitchen. "It leads to the basement where mum keeps her magical items and has a series of protective spells to keep anyone from getting inside. I have an key but its for emergencies only".

"So, like a panic room to hide away in?" Alice blinked.

"Yeah, pretty much." Robin nodded.

Alice paused, raising an eyebrow at her. "I can't imagine you hiding away from the trouble."

Robin smirked. "Well, that's what I've told mum I'll do. When the situation comes around things may play out a little differently."

"That sounds more like it!" Alice laughed.

Grinning and feeling a little prouder than she would have had anyone else said that to her, Robin showed Alice around the staircase where a door was hidden that led to a small bathroom. It was probably the same size as the bathroom Alice had in her tower, with one exception of having a bathtub that took up one side of the wall and seemed at least big enough for two. Alice raised a suggestive eyebrow and, without a word being said, Robin knew immediately what she was thinking.

"Definitely something to try later." Robin grinned, taking her hands and pulling her along. "So let's hurry up and finish this tour already!"

"How much is left?" Alice blinked. She'd lived in a tower with nothing but a single room (not including the corner bathroom that couldn't really be counted as a room, but more of a corner with a curtain loosely wrapped around it). While she had seen plenty of houses from the outside, the closest she had got to another persons home was tents like the ones the people with her father were using at the base camp of the Resistance.

"Not much." Robin promised, guiding her upstairs to where a similar hallway matched the one bellow them but with three doors instead of four, and at the end of the hallway was a tall window that took up the whole wall.

To the left was a small storage room that Zelena used for random bits and pieces that didn't have a place yet in the rest of the house or that they simply hadn't decided what to do with yet. Then next to that room was Zelena's bedroom, which they left undisturbed, while opposite that room to the right was Robin's. It was almost as empty as the dining room with just a single bed in the middle of the floor and a wardrobe with her clothes hanging inside pushed against the wall opposite, with a fancy looking desk sitting to the side that had a series of sharp objects that Alice recognised as what Robin often used to make her own personalized arrows. It also had a large glass door that led out to an open balcony with a single wooden fence surrounding the edge that gave a beautiful view of the front of the farm, right down to the forest of trees that had a series of markings painted over them.

"Mum and I share this balcony," Robin explained, pointing to a second glass door that led into her mothers bedroom. "But I use it more than she does. It's got a beautiful view." She smiled proudly.

"It's... Really beautiful." Alice said, turning to look around. The balcony was mostly empty with firm wooden floorboards under their feet and a matching fence that had been freshly painted white. It was empty except for a single soft brown bench that was leaning against the wall between the two doors that had a bow and arrow and a witch hat carved into the back rest.

Robin heard something in her voice and frowned. "Is there something wrong?"

"Oh no!" Alice said quickly, her cheeks turning a little pink as she looked at her with a tight smile.

"Hey," Robin reached over, grabbing her hand. "What's the matter?" She pressed.

Alice smiled at her, but the smile was still strained. "I'm sorry. It is a cool view, but..." She waved a hand over the balcony. "Views of the land aren't really new for me. Actually, it's kind of depressing. I get a little deja vu from it and I always feel a little sick."

"Right." Robin winced. "I'm sorry. I should have thought about that."

"It's no big deal." Alice shrugged. "I'm not going to freak out over it and demand we go back inside. I just... I dunno... I guess I just don't think much of them like other people do. Views mean little to me. I prefer to see things up close and personal now."

"I can get that." Robin nodded. "You don't have to pretend to like it just because I do."

"I know I just feel a little bad when people go on about how great the view is and I'm just thinking... 'meh'." Alice shrugged.

"Well the view is nice, but I only really use the balcony for target practice." Robin explained, pointing to the trees. "Mum put permanent pictures on the trees of animals and other targets for me to aim for. Otherwise this is just kind of open unused space. Even if you like views, it doesn't have much of one besides the trees and a bit of the farm."

"Can I see?" Alice asked suddenly.

"See what?" Robin blinked.

"See you shoot." Alice grinned. "I wanna see if you're really as good as you like to brag that you are."

Robin smirked. "Oh I am."

A few minutes later, Robin had shot several arrows down to the trees bellow, hitting the painted pictures exactly where Alice instructed her to. At first she started off easy, using the binoculars that Robin got for her from her bedroom to double check and make sure she wasn't cheating. Not that she needed to. Robin could only miss if she wanted to. When it became clear that hitting the images themselves was truly child's play for the huntress, Alice began to name specific body parts and areas, even trying to trick her out a couple of times with more than one target. However when Robin was able to get the dear and the rabbit both in the centre of the eye (despite the fact that they were on either end of the line of trees), Alice was willing to throw in the flag.

"Okay, show off." Alice said, putting her hands on her hips. "You win, you're really that good."

"And don't forget it." Robin grinned, winking at her as she picking up her quiver and bow, turning away from the balcony. "So why don't we go back inside?"

"Can if you want." Alice shrugged casually, but was already halfway back inside. Whether she realised it or whether it was an unconscious thing, it was clear balconies were more than just 'kind of depressing' even if she didn't fully realise it.

Robin followed Alice inside, placing her bow and quiver at her desk and turning to find Alice casually looking around the room, keeping her back to the glass door and balcony. Robin still felt bad about not thinking about that earlier, especially because she knew full well how Alice had spent so many years locked in the tower, so it was only natural that she had a few triggers. She could probably do with a distraction from it... And Robin knew just what would work for a girl who spent all her years locked up in a tower in the Enchanted Forest and who craved all things new and adventurous.

"Hey, you wanna see something cool?" Robin asked with a grin.

"What?" Alice asked cocking her head to the side curiously.

Robin went to her wardrobe and opened one of the doors, reaching for the shelf towards the top. She pulled down a small round grey object in both hands that she then set on the floor by the door. It was something Alice had never seen before. It was probably the length of Robin's chest and half as tall with a grey cover and light grey buttons along the tops and side with a long metal pole that folded into the back and lighter grey sides that had a series of small pinpricks covering them. Once she had set it on the floor, Alice watched curiously as Robin pressed a series of button on the top before flicking a little black scroll in the middle, which immediately released a loud burst of music, a kind that Alice had certainly never heard before.

"What is that?" Alice blinked, moving to crouch beside her, gently touching the box. It was cold metal, but the sides seemed to actually beat along with the pounding of the music like a living heart.

"It's a stereo. A music player that plays CDs from the other world. Mum let me bring it and she keeps it powered with her magic so it never runs out." Robin explained. "I have a bunch of CDs to go with it. This particular one is my favourite. What do you think?"

Alice paused, listening to the song for a second before nodding her head in time with the gentle beat and grinned up at her. "I like it!" She reached over, scrolling the volume up even louder like she had seen Robin do.

Robin climbed to her feet, stepping back slightly and bowing. "May I?" She asked in an overly posh tone, holding out a hand.

Still grinning, Alice copied her, jumping to her feet and bowing down to her as well. "Why of course, m'lady."

Taking her hand, Robin thread their fingers together and wrapped her other arm around Alice's waist, feeling Alice place her hand against Robin's back between her shoulder blades so they were stood just inches apart. She grinned at her, squeezing her hand slightly before they began to move slowly around the room, dancing clumsily in time with the music behind them. More than once Alice stood on her toes and just as many times did Robin accidentally dance them into the bed, but each time they both giggled and kept moving, ignoring the bumps and bruises with nothing more than slight winces and open smiles at just how bad they were.

They didn't always keep in time with the music – at one point they completely ignored the music, putting their arms around each other completely and moving slowly with their faces close – but that didn't stop them from having the music loud. Just loud enough so that it drowned out everything but their own giddy laughter. So much so that their laughter began to become distracting, which caused them to be even more clumsy on their feet. Not that it mattered. Neither girl had lessons and neither cared to. It was a lot more fun to do it this way.

When they got too close to kicking the stereo, Robin pulled Alice close and spun her around, resulting in them giggling as they took turns twirling one another before pulling each other close again. At one point Alice spun Robin out and pulled her back into her embrace, crossing her arms around her and rocking slowly (and once again out of tune to the music) with her chin resting on her shoulder. Robin turned, pecking her cheek before she broke free of her hold to grab Alice's hands and dance her back and forth across the room, stomping her feet along the floor in time with the drum solo in the song.

Meanwhile, as the girls continued their inconsistent dancing, Zelena stepped into the house and let out a loud sigh. "Robin!" Zelena called. "The musics a little loud, don't you think?"

When she didn't get a reply she sighed again. Teenagers.

Dropping her bag on the floor by the living room door to put away later, Zelena started for the stairs, climbing them steadily one at a time. Robin was normally good when it came to her music, she hadn't even needed any ground rules when she originally set it up, just knowing not to play it too loud and to switch it off at night before falling asleep. Zelena couldn't help but feel maybe something was off. What if she upset about something and was using the music to drown out the rest of the world? Or even to drown out her own crying? If so, Zelena could hardly just ignore it. She had to check to make sure everything was okay.

As she came to the top of the stairs she heard a sudden bang, like someone had just thrown themselves onto the bed with double the force. That definitely wasn't Robin's style. Not unless there was something bothering her. It seemed something really was wrong if she was physically throwing herself around like that. But what could have upset Robin so much in such a short time? She'd left the house perfectly fine. Had a hunt gone wrong? No. That wouldn't get this reaction from her, it must be something more serious.

"Robin?" Zelena said, feeling a sudden panicked fear and charging into the room. "Sweethearts what's the mat-"

Alice and Robin both froze in place on the bed.

During their dance, they had once again lost balance during a ridiculous twirl that led to Alice falling backwards, dragging Robin down to land on top of her on the bed. She had fallen with one of her hands cupping the side of Alice's hip (incredibly close to her backside) while the other was now supporting her by resting beside Alice's head. And like a seriously bad joke, Zelena had charged in just as Alice had reached her legs up to wrap around Robin's waist, keeping her close and locking her ankles together behind her to keep her from escaping.

"-ter..." Zelena finished lamely, blinking owlishly at the girls from the doorway.

"Mum." Robin said finally, feeling her face heat as she subtly tried to sit back on her heels, feeling Alice's legs drop to lie either side of her on the bed. "I... Didn't realise you'd be back so soon."

"Regina had to deal with some revolution business." Zelena said slowly, staring from her daughter to Alice with a bemused expression on her face. "So I came back early."

"Oh..." Robin swallowed hard and forced a tight smile, though her face seemed to be turning even pinker the longer her mother hovered beside the still blaring stereo. "Well, mum. This is Alice."

"Hi." Alice squeaked, waving a hand before she remembered that her skirt had fallen halfway to her thighs when she wrapped them around Robin's waist. Scrambling to sit up, she pulled her skirt down and jumped to her feet, putting a bit of space between her and Robin. "Um. It's a pleasure to meet you." She paused, then added quickly. "Robin's told me all about you!"

"Well. That's nice." Zelena said quietly then smiled. It looked almost manic on her face and she seemed to realise that as she shook her head like clearing her thoughts and her smile became a little less intense. "Sorry to barge in! I'll just go downstairs and... Make something for dinner." She paused and smiled to Alice. "Are you staying, dear?"

"Uh..." Alice glanced at Robin who shrugged. "Sure?"

"Lovely." Zelena beamed, showing every tooth behind her lips. She glanced at Robin with a little shine in her eye and a knowing smirk that made Robin blush for a whole new reason. Zelena paused to wave a hand, turning down the stereo music with a slight raised eyebrow before she nodded once more at the two girls with the same over the top smile that looked it was was going to bruise her cheeks later.

After shutting the door behind her, Zelena paused with a stupid smile on her face. Only when she was completely out of sight of the two girls in the room behind her did Zelena press a hand to her lips and let out the slightest chuckle. It was certainly a surprise to walk into that when she had been expecting to find something almost the exact opposite, and naturally Zelena was relieved that Robin wasn't upset but there was more to it than that. Despite everything else she had gone through over the years, this was the moment when it finally clicked for Zelena in the best possible way.

Her baby girl was growing up!

 **O*U*A*T**

"Oh my God, I was a second away from pulling off your shirt." Alice said, burying her face in her hands.

"Well my hand was as close to your ass as it could get," Robin giggled nervously, massaging her temples to ward off the threatening headache. "I have no idea how I am ever going to be able to look her in the eye after this."

Alice walked over, dropping onto the edge of the bed hard. "I should have never come back here."

Robin paused, looking at the back of her head from where she was still kneeling behind her on the middle of the mattress. "Never?"

"Never." Alice snorted. "We should have stuck with the woods."

Robin hesitated again. "I mean. I wouldn't say never." She wet her lips and began fiddling with her thumb nail. "I mean, I did want you to meet mum eventually. Not how I would have chosen to do it but... You know." She shrugged. "Had to happen somehow."

Alice turned to look at her, frowning slightly. "You wanted me to meet your mum?"

"Yeah, of course I did." Robin shrugged with a half smile. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I dunno. Because that's what serious couples do." Alice said, feeling awkward and shifting on the spot.

"Well we are serious. Aren't we?" Robin asked softly.

Alice opened her mouth but words failed. So instead she turned around and reached out, grabbing Robin's shoulder and kissing her hard. She held the kiss for a few moments, shutting her eyes and enjoying the warmth of Robin's open mouth against hers, her hot breath sending a shiver down her spine before she pulled away. "I-" Alice stopped short and smiled. "I really like you, Robin."

"I really like you too," Robin whispered. "But did you really not think we were serious?"

"I guess, I just kind of assumed that you..." Alice blushed and half shrugged. "Might be embarrassed."

"By what?" Robin laughed.

"Robin, you've done so much!" Alice laughed uneasily, waving at the stereo. "You've been to other worlds, lived a life of adventure and danger. You've done things I've only ever dreamed of. Because when it comes down to it, I'm just some nobody girl who lived most of her life with just her papa for company in a tiny room at the top of the tower. You're so amazing and I'm just... Just the most unluckiest and boring girl in the whole land."

"Is that really how you see yourself?" Robin asked, standing and stepping up to her. "Because you are so much more than that. Alice, I wish you could see the you that I see. The you who has a smile that makes the entire room warmer. The you who has this constant excited expression on her face, and a light in her eye that never seems to die. The you who has had the worst luck for so much of her life and who still has dreams and hopes and who still can make those around her laugh and be silly! And who's smart and so, _so,_ beautiful." Robin reached up, brushing some hair from Alice's face. "I- I really like you, Alice. I think I might even be falling head over heels in love with you because you're just so amazing."

The shock was obvious on Alice's face. She'd almost been close to saying it herself but stopped herself short, and now it seemed Robin had beat her to it.

"I really do." Robin went on, still smiling as she looked into Alice's eyes. "And I can't wait for mum to get to know you and see the girl that I see. This amazing girl who shines even in the darkest of places, and who's very glance makes my heart jump in my chest and who can make me feel so happy even if I've had the crappiest of days. Because you are... Indescribable!"

Alice was shaking. She felt her throat tighten and her eyes itched. She glanced down at her shivering hands and saw the beginning of goose bumps showing on her arms. When she looked up, she was smiling again. "Actually I think you used a lot of description just now."

Robin laughed, cupping Alice's cheek and leaning forward to kiss her softly. The soft kiss grew deeper and the girls wrapped their arms around each other. When they pulled away, they still pressed their faces close and looked at one another, their bodies unconsciously rocking to the music of the stereo behind them once more. They could have stayed there forever.

However, forever was cut short. Dinner was ready.

 **O*U*A*T**

Zelena had taken her time making dinner, giving the girls plenty of time to compose themselves and a few extra minutes to simply be together. Young lovers liked their privacy. Zelena may not have as much experience in that department first hand (she hadn't found love until later in life) but she could imagine well enough.

When she called them down she made herself appear busy, setting the table until they entered, one at a time like they were doing their best not to openly touch one another. It was probably a bit of a shock, even for Robin, at the sight of the dining room. Zelena may have gone a bit all out, at least more than she normally did. She had moved the fruit out of the way and had taken some of the cushions from the living room and places them on the dining room chairs, as well as using her very best plates and cutlery with a beautiful bouquet of flowers sitting at one end of the table. There were candles on each corner of the table and the dinner she had prepared was an over the top roast that Zelena had made up last minute with the help of her magic. She wasn't sure what Alice liked, so she had given her a bit of everything, so much so that it nearly didn't fit on her plate.

Finally Zelena settled in the cushioned chair that faced the other two, smiling in the same over the top way as Alice and Robin cautiously walked over to join her. Robin was looking suspicious, like she expected there to be some kind of a trap hidden, while Alice was very obviously gnawing the inside of her lip and the girl seemed to be positively trembling and doing her best not to make eye contact with anyone as she dropped hard into her seat.

"Are you cold, Alice?" Zelena asked instantly, standing from her seat and waving a hand before either girl could say anything. Suddenly the fire in the living room light up. It was across the hallway but they could already feel the heat coming in through the open door.

"Thanks." Alice said nervously, sitting down quickly before she continued to bite the inside of her lip. Under the table she felt Robin take her hand and clung to her, not caring if it made eating more difficult.

Zelena smiled at the two, watching as Robin smiled at her encouragingly. She was so busy smiling at them that she hadn't realised just how pointedly she was staring until Robin, after several bites of her dinner, coughed loudly and glared pointedly at Zelena and her untouched plate.

"Oh sorry!" Zelena laughed. "I was just... Thinking." She laughed again and Robin winced, turning to look at Alice and mouthing an apology of her own.

Feeling she should say something, Alice looked up and forced herself to catch Zelena's mothers eye. "This is very nice." She said, pointing to the roast.

"Thank you." Zelena beamed. "Don't worry if you can't eat anything. It won't go to waste and I wasn't sure what you liked."

"I can pretty much eat anything." Alice shrugged.

"So." Zelena asked, taking a small bite of her meal and watching them both with a cheeky look in her eye. "Where did you two meet?"

Alice looked like she had asked if they had had sex yet, the panic and nervousness in her face was so intense that Zelena almost felt guilty for asking (and also twice as curious). However Robin was unaffected and gave a half shrug. "Just in a random abandoned tower in the woods. Nowhere special. Alice was stuck and couldn't leave so I helped her get out."

"Sounds like a pretty typical meeting here." Zelena smirked then asked; "How long have you two been dating?"

"Mum. We're hungry." Robin said tensely, pointing to her dinner.

"Oh of course, sorry. I don't mean to distract you. Go on, dig in!" Zelena beamed, waving her hands and watching them again.

"Mum. Eat." Robin hissed.

"Oh!" Zelena laughed and began to eat her own meal, which was becoming increasingly difficult as she still wouldn't stop smiling up at them. Somehow the silence during their dinner was even more awkward than the silence after Zelena had walked in on them upstairs. It probably didn't help that, even while eating, Zelena watched the two girls constantly, ignoring Robin's sharp looks and sometimes even returning them with a little smirk.

Halfway through the meal, just as Alice was beginning to find herself struggling with her food and looking for an excuse to let it go cold, she glanced up shyly. "Um." Alice started, wincing at how Zelena immediately locked on her. "You have a lovely home, Miss Mills."

"Oh sweetheart, call me Zelena." Zelena said immediately. "We don't need to be so formal."

"Okay... Zelena." Alice said, quickly turning back to her meal and feeling the tightness in her stomach ease off slightly. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all.

When Zelena once again paused mid meal to just smile at the girls in a way that was beginning to feel nightmare worthy, Robin sighed and looked up at her. "Mum. You're being rude."

"I'm sorry!" Zelena said. "Sorry, Alice, dear. I'm just... Taken back. This is the first time Robin's brought anyone home." She smiled pointedly at her daughter. "You two must be very close."

Alice choked on the sip of water she had been about to take. Either Robin's mother had an incredibly poor choice of words, or a twisted sense of humour and was cheekily referencing how she had walked in on them while the two girls were as close as they could get. And with that smile still on her face, it was impossible for Alice to tell just which one it was.

"So, Alice, sweetheart, why don't you tell me a little more about yourself?" Zelena asked.

"Mum." Robin warned.

"There's not much to tell." Alice shrugged. "I've lived a pretty boring life so far."

"Well trust me, Alice. Sometimes boring is better." Zelena said pointedly. "What about your parents. Do they live in town?"

"Um... Dad... Lives with some people. Near town." Alice said slowly, choosing her words carefully. "I don't see him that much."

"Why not?" Zelena asked, blinking and ignoring Robin's not so subtly taps under the table.

"We're cursed." Alice admitted quietly, gripping Robin's hand out of sight. "We can't be near each other without bad things happening."

"Oh. I'm so sorry." Zelena said, wincing and wishing she had listened to Robin's taps. "That must be hard. Do you stay with your mother th-OW!" Zelena yelped when Robin's taps turned into a full on kick.

Robin was glaring and Zelena cringed, ducking her head slightly. It didn't take a genius to guess she'd put her foot in her mouth again. Things were never this complicated back in Storybrooke! But then, to be fair, everyone knew everyone in Storybrooke so they already knew what subjects to avoid. Maybe if Robin had given her a heads up, she might have thought things through and considered that some might be loaded but everything had been sprung on her!

Still, that was no excuse. Zelena had mother issues of her own, she should have checked herself before she just grilled Alice for what was obviously painful information.

However Alice surprised them both by growing a little taller from the question. She sat up straighter and looked up with suddenly hard eyes and her mouth pressed into a thin line of someone preparing themselves for a painful blow. "My mother abandoned me in a tower to take her place so she could run away right after I was born."

"I see." Zelena said, snorting and shaking her head, catching even Robin off guard. "Well I actually understand that better than most. My mother abandoned me for a better life for herself as well."

"Really?" Alice blinked, she hadn't expected that.

"You never told me that." Robin said, equally surprised.

"Yeah. Not my proudest of memories. We sort of made up a while back in hell-"

"Long story." Robin grinned at the shocked look Alice flipped her.

"-but I don't think I'll ever truly forgive her." Zelena continued, picking up her cup and holding it out to Alice. "Well, who needs them. We're better off without them bitches in our lives."

Despite her nerves, Alice felt herself giggle. Grinning, she picked up her cup and tapped it against Zelena's. "Definitely better off!"

Beside her, Robin relaxed a little, watching the two with a small smile. The three seemed to have broken the ice at that point and turned back to their meal (it was lukewarm at this point but Zelena quickly fixed that with a brief flick of her fingers). The conversation was a lot easier and natural (mostly about Storybrooke and their adventures in hell) right up until they finished and Zelena vanished only to return with a large chocolate cake. It was instantly mouthwatering and Alice had to physically swallow back the drool as Zelena cut her a generously large piece. She suddenly found she had a space in her stomach for more food after all.

"So, do you see your father often?" Zelena asked.

"When I can." Alice admitted. "We just can't physically touch."

"You certainly sound like you've had it hard." Zelena noted sadly. "Well, just so you know, you are welcome in our home any time. In fact you can stay the night if you'd like."

"Oh no, it's okay-" Alice started.

"No I insist! Just no funny business." Zelena said pointing at her daughter.

"Mum!" Robin snarled, burning red in the face. Just when she thought the embarrassing part of the meal was done with.

Zelena held up her hands in surrender. "I'd be a poor mum if I let you two just run around-"

"Mum!" Robin shouted.

"I'm just saying-"

"Well stop saying!" Robin insisted angrily.

Zelena nodded but was not so subtly fighting the urge to smile, which both baffled and infuriated Robin. In the end the younger girl rolled her eyes and pushed away the remains of her cake.

"I'm done. Alice, why don't we go for a walk." Robin suggested.

Zelena jumped up, walking around and wrapping Alice in a hug before she even had a chance to reply. The hug was tight but warm and she felt Zelena still smiling against her cheek.

"It was wonderful meeting you, Alice. I hope you come and visit more often now." Zelena smirked at her daughter. "Robin needs someone to help keep her in line."

"Very funny." Robin said, rolling her eyes at her, but the previous irritation had vanished. Even after everything, it was nice seeing her mother so excited about Alice.

Zelena let go of Alice, her eyes suddenly becoming very glassy and she pressed her lips together, reaching over to hug her daughter as she stood up. She squeezed her tightly, tearfully clinging to her.

"I'm so happy for you." Zelena whispered.

Robin forced a smile for Alice's sake before she turned and hissed into her mothers ear. "We're not getting married. Dial it back!"

Zelena pulled away, smiling at Robin cheerfully. "Never." She beamed. "It's part of the fun of having kids."

With that, Robin was caught between being impressed and being infuriated. In the end she settled for a mix of both, shaking her head and smirking at her mother as she reached over, taking Alice's hand and leading her from the house.

"So that could have gone better." Robin grumbled.

"Actually, I think it went pretty good." Alice said quietly, smiling softly. She reached around, putting an arm over Robin's shoulder as they walked. "You're lucky to have a mum like that."

"Just promise me you'll look away if she tries to show you any baby pictures or anything." Robin groaned.

"I'm sorry, Robin." Alice said seriously. "But I'm afraid I can't make such a promise."

 **O*U*A*T**

After the girls had gone, Zelena used her magic to clear away the mess, smiling the whole time. It was certainly unexpected, and not just walking in on them like that. But Zelena hadn't even considered that Robin might be interested in other girls. If anything she had assumed Robin wasn't interested in anyone (though maybe that was just the wishful thinking of a mother). But despite her original assumptions, Zelena found herself thrilled. She worried that she had brought Robin to this world when she was too young, that she might not have had a proper chance to make real relationships (friends and more) and that her isolation in this world might make it harder for her. But now she saw Robin was doing just fine.

And she really was doing fine, Zelena thought, cleaning the table quickly before she began to collect the left over chocolate cake for storage. Alice was a very sweet girl. Which made it all the more surprising when you considered her sad history. Zelena understood some of it, but even she had a somewhat normal childhood, even if her adopted father had hated her, her adopted mother had at least taken care of her. Meanwhile poor Alice was stuck with a mother who abandoned her to save herself somehow, and she had a father whom she was cursed to never be able to even be with. That was just tragic. Her childhood must have been so harsh. In fact, one of the best days of her life was probably meeting Robin that tower, though what the two girls were doing up in a random tower, Zelena had no idea...

Wait a minute... Didn't Alice say she was abandoned in the tower? And that Robin saved her from it?

Zelena paused in the hallway, the cake left overs still in her hand and she stopped mid turn towards the kitchen. Suddenly the thoughts began to come together. She was suddenly reminded of something that Regina had told her during one of her visits. Her sister had filled her in on almost everything that was happening at the resistance, including the people who had joined it. And now, the pieces began to click.

A mother who abandoned her to save herself... A father who was cursed to never be able to be with her... And a tower she was trapped in...

No...

"Oh my God," Zelena dropped the cake at her feet. "My daughter is dating the fake pirates girl!"

* * *

 **A/N:** I wanted Zelena to be a dorky mum who puts her foot in it a lot and is overly pleased. She cools out a lot later once she gets used to having Alice around but for the moment she still can't help but be over the top happy with them.

Not sure if I'm happy with the dinner conversation or not. If you can, give me some feedback. Did it come off as a bit of a ramble or too awkward? (And I mean awkwardly written: the scenes kind of meant to be awkward in a way lol).

 _Next chapter will be the girls telling Alice's father about them._


	2. Killian

"NO!"

But Robin's cries fell on deaf ears as Alice reached up and locked a tight hold on her wrists. She tried pulling back but Alice had surprising strength when she needed it and when she put her foot up against the side and kicked away, there was nothing Robin could do to keep herself from being dragged head first into the ice cold river water with her. She was submerged immediately and quickly twisted back around, breaking through the surface, gasping and throwing her long blonde hair back out of the way from where it stuck to her face. She reached up just long enough to wipe the droplets from her eyes before she spun around in the water to find Alice already running away.

"Not so fast!" Robin gasped and began to chase after her. Robin didn't even attempting to try running and instead dropped back into the water, swimming hard against the soft current. It didn't take her long to catch up with the other girl, reaching over to grab her shoulders and pull her back sharply mid run.

Alice squealed, turning and falling on top of Robin who slipped on the soft mud under the water. The two girls dropped with a loud splash, the area still deep enough for them to be completely covered and they scrambled to get back onto their feet, spitting water and gasping for breath in between fits of laughter. The water was ice cold but it was summer and the air around them was hot, the sun shining directly overhead and warming them through whenever they weren't hidden completely by the stream they swam in. No doubt they would have to worry about sunburn once they finally got out but for now, neither thought of anything passed how much they were enjoying one another's company.

"You're a little wet, love." Alice grinned, raising an eyebrow at her girlfriend, who just a few moments earlier declared that she wasn't planning on doing any swimming today. She was perfectly content with simply soaking her toes from the side until Alice had pulled her in.

"You'll pay for this." Robin warned, but she couldn't stop smiling even as she said it. Now that she was in the water, she was resigned to sticking around, gently waving her arms just under the surface, drifting around in a circle with a lazy half swim.

"Oh I'm sure you can think of some way to repay me." Alice noted. "But the look on your face when I grabbed you will always be worth it!"

"We'll see." Robin noted, moving over and knocking Alice's feet out from under her, causing Alice to dip and splash in the water slightly before she purposefully relaxed and allowed her body to begin floating casually, still with her cocky grin in place like it had never left.

Before she could drift too far downstream, Robin waddled back to her side and gently place a hand on her leg, keeping her in place. She resisted the urge to tickle her exposed feet, knowing exactly where Alice was most ticklish, and instead took her legs in both hands and slowly moving backwards, pulling Alice along with her back to where their bags and clothes were still waiting for them before they got too far away and gave someone the chance to snatch anything. Neither of them had planned on going in the water at first, so when Alice had suddenly decided to after feeling the hot weather, she had no clothes to change into and so simply stripped down to her underwear before she jumped straight in. Robin had chosen to strip off her heavier layers and trousers (since they were too tight for her to roll up her legs) and chose to let her feet soak while sitting warmly on the side. She'd been perfectly content watching Alice swim about, serene in the moment even... Until Alice's little surprise attack.

They had started out their day at Robin's farm, Alice heading there at sunrise so she could join Robin and her mother for an early morning breakfast (something which was quickly becoming a routinely thing for them now). It wasn't necessarily the most tasty breakfast that Alice had ever had, but with Zelena's warm and friendly attitude, Alice could have been eating muck and still be pleased with it all. Each time she visited, Alice didn't want to leave. She enjoyed the simple family life that Robin had, sometimes she even envied it a little (okay, more than a little), but both Zelena and Robin made her feel just so welcome into their home. More so than anyone else had ever done in her life since leaving the tower. She and Robin may have only be together for a short while, but she was already being made to feel as though she were already part of her family.

"You coming to mine for breakfast again tomorrow?" Robin asked, moving to stand behind Alice, wrapping her arms around her chest and resting her chin on her shoulder from where she was still lying back. She twisted around slightly so Alice's head could lean back on her own shoulder in turn, helping to keep her face out of the water and to keep her body from constantly trying to float away downstream.

"I'd like that." Alice said dreamily, sighing and turning to gently rub her nose against Robin's jaw. "I love it at your house."

Robin hesitated, then kissed Alice's cheek before adding; "You know, maybe we could have breakfast at mine and then lunch with you... And your dad."

Alice made no obvious physical movement, but with her arms looped around her and their faces pressing close, it was impossible for Robin not to notice how she physically tensed at the comment. Alice forced herself to relax just as quickly as she tensed, rolling her head to the side, looking at Robin with eyes like that of a lost child, unsure of which direction to go and in need of guidance from the closest person to her.

"I want to..." Alice said quietly, staring up at her.

"So why don't you?" Robin asked, not unkindly.

"I don't know how. Honestly, it was embarrassing but it was still easier with your mum. She just walked in and there was no need to find a way to bring it up or anything. She just knew. No talk, no nothing." Alice shrugged.

"Yeah, I get that." Robin admitted. "If mum hadn't walked in on us, I don't know how I'd bring it up to her on my own."

"Maybe we should just go somewhere we know he'll be and make out. That'd save us all a lot of time." Alice grumbled.

"Trust me, as easier as it might be, you don't want to deal with the aftermath." Robin sighed. "You have no idea what mum was like after you'd gone and it was just me and her. At least you'll be able to prepare yourself even if only a little."

"Why?" Alice blinked. "What happened?"

"She was just being so annoying. You know how she kept asking questions during dinner? Well that was nothing compared to how I got the full interrogation after you were gone. She wanted to know everything. And I mean everything. She wanted to know exactly where and how we met again, when we met, as in month, week day and hour, what we said when we met, how I helped you out of the tower. Everything. And after that she wanted to know if I needed anything for our dates, asking things like whether or not we were being _safe_." Robin pushed Alice away enough to look her properly in the eyes so she could truly see her personal horror. "She actually asked me if we were being _safe_!"

"I don't get it..." Alice frowned.

"Like, STDs." Robin said, rolling her eyes.

Alice felt her cheeks heat up and suddenly splashed as she stood, laughing loudly. "Are you serious?! What did you tell her?"

"To shut up." Robin said, shaking her head. "But that was as obvious an answer as any."

"So not only does your mum know we're together..." Alice began slowly.

"She now knows we're having sex as well. Yeah." Robin groaned. "It's so embarrassing. She's cooled off a lot now but I still catch her giving me these dopey smiles whenever I so much as mention you. And whenever I say I'm going to go for a hunt or practice, she puts on this voice and says 'Oooooh, practice,' and winks." Robin slapped the water. "My own damn mother winks at me!"

Alice was still laughing, hovering in the water. She tried to say something but a fresh burst of giggles cut her off again before she could. Every time she seemed to calm down, she caught the look on Robin's face and a fresh bout of laughter broke free all over again.

"You just wait. Mums being all knowing and winky with me, but everyone knows dads are ten times more protective over their daughters. Imagine what you're going to have to put up with." Robin teased.

The laughter died just as fast and suddenly Alice looked pale. "... So, why do we need to tell him?" Alice asked innocently.

Robin swam over to her, kissing her cheek. "Because." She kissed the corner of her mouth. "We're getting serious." She kissed her full on the lips. "So fess up!"

"Can't we be serious in secret?" Alice said suggestively, running a hand down Robin's bare stomach.

However Robin quickly caught her hand and pushed it away, smirking. "If I have to suffer with my mum, then you have to suffer with your dad."

"Oh fine!" Alice huffed, lying back in the water again.

"Come on," Robin laughed, pushing Alice to the side. "Let's get out and start drying. If you want I'll help you plan out what you're going to say to him."

Alice sighed, twisting and pulling herself up out of the water with Robin following closely behind. "This isn't going to be the fun day I had hoped it would."

O*U*A*T

After they had climbed from the river, they found a nice open area nearby where the sun hung directly overhead, laying back on the ground and letting it warm them through lazily while they discussed when Alice should suck it up and tell her father the truth about their relationship. It wasn't a conversation Alice enjoyed, and more than once she attempted to flirt her and Robin back into the water for some more oblivious fun but each time Robin reluctantly turned her down. It wasn't that she wouldn't love to forget their problems and just be together for the day, but deep down Robin knew Alice wanted to tell her father. She loved her father more than anyone else in the world, and it meant a lot that he knew about her relationship, which was, ironically, why she was also so reluctant to tell him. Even if Robin pretended she didn't, she knew Alice was terrified of her fathers reaction. And Robin would continue to pretend she didn't know anything until Alice felt safe enough to tell her the truth herself.

"I think you should get it out the way." Robin said as Alice helped tie her hair back into a single plait behind her back. "It's a short walk to his camp, and once it's done, you won't have to worry about it any more."

"I don't know..." Alice groaned. "I don't think now is a good time."

"Let's make a deal." Robin said, turning and helping to untangle some of the worst knots in Alice's loose hair in turn. "If you can give me three reasons why you shouldn't tell your dad today, we'll go back to mine and get in some warm water this time. Deal?"

"Fine." Alice agreed, sitting on her heels. "But you have to give me three reasons why we should tell him today as well."

"No problem." Robin said confidently. "You go first."

"Well..." Alice hesitated, then shrugged. "I wouldn't know what to say. I need more time to plan it out."

"Fair point." Robin noted, then raised an eyebrow. "But the days still young so we have plenty of time to think of what you want to say now before you see him." She smiled cheerfully. "Second point?"

"He could be busy." Alice said quickly.

"He's always going to be a little busy." Robin noted. "If you go by that mentality, there will never be a good time to tell him."

Alice sighed, her body seeming to deflate. "What if he isn't happy..."

Robin had been prepared for this and reacted instantly. She moved around to sit beside her, putting her arms around Alice and hugging her close. "Are you happy? With me, I mean." She asked.

"Of course I am." Alice said instantly, looking shocked that Robin would even ask her that.

"Then you have nothing to worry about. I may not personally know your dad, but from everything you've told me, he only wants you to be happy." Robin said, squeezing her shoulder. "So there's nothing to worry about."

Alice leaned against her. "Sometimes I worry that I don't know him like I used to. We've been separated for such a long time. I'm not the same person he raised in that tower, so why should he be the same person who raised me?"

"He still loves you." Robin said. "And he still wants the best for you. And he still wants you to be happy."

Alice nodded, but didn't look up. If anything she moved closer up against Robin for comfort. For so long it had just been her and father, with quite literally no one else in her life at all. It was only natural that Alice worried about how he would react, even if she couldn't fully put into words exactly why she was so worried. Only that she feared the worst would happen.

"Alice." Robin lifted her head gently. "I know it's hard. But the longer you put it off, the worse it's going to feel until you finally get it off your chest."

Alice nodded glumly.

"I'll be with you the whole time." Robin said.

"Promise?" Alice almost begged.

"Of course. I promise. In fact I swear on the ghost of my father." Robin said quickly, hugging Alice close. "I'll always be with you."

Alice pulled away, teary eyed and nodded. "Okay. Let's tell him."

Without a word, Robin leaned forward and pressed a sweet kiss against her lips, holding her close for a few extra minutes and pulling away before they got too caught up and ended up staying where they were instead of finding her father. It was such a tempting idea that Robin had to physically force herself to stop, keeping back a secretly unhappy whine in the back of her throat, and climbing to her feet. They finished dressing and collected their belongings in almost silence. When they were both ready, Robin reached down and took her hand, entwining their fingers and gently pulling Alice along just slightly to keep her moving as they walked through the woods in direction of her fathers camp. On the way, Robin began to throw out some idea of what Alice could say when she eventually came face to face with Killian again.

But even though Alice was willing to tell him, that didn't mean she suddenly was inspired and at ease with the whole idea. She was still nervous, and seemed to be over thinking every suggestion Robin gave her. The latest of which was that she felt anything she said would seem random and out of the blue and therefore, make it all very awkward between them.

"Alice, darling, sweetheart, love." Robin said, turning and cupping Alice's face between her hands, trying not to laugh at Alice's excuses because while funny, they also came from some serious insecurities that were clearly upsetting her. "Babe, it's going to seem random when you bring it up no matter how you say it, at least unless you're willing to wait a lifetime for him to casually ask you if you're seeing anyone romantically."

 _Babe?_ That was a new one. Alice would have to bring that up another time. "That's an idea." Alice said instead wistfully.

"No." Robin said, shaking her head and smiling. "You can't wait for him to ask you."

"There's got to be a way to bring it up naturally." Alice grumbled, hooking her arm through Robin's as they started walking again. They were gradually getting closer to town and she was quickly running out of time to think things through.

"I don't think you're ever going to be able to bring it up naturally." Robin said with a sad smile. "No matter how you phrase it, it is going to seem out of the blue and feel weird. The least you can do is just get it out and then move on from there. It'll stop feeling random once you get a conversation going. How about starting it by telling him you have good news?"

"Okay, papa. I have good news." Alice said strictly.

"It's good news, darling, not business news." Robin teased, poking her side. "Try and smile a little."

Alice pulled away from her, stepping ahead and turning to face her. She broke into a large grin that matched the manic smile Zelena wore right after finding out herself. "Papa!" Alice shrieked. "I have such wonderful goody goody perfect news!"

"Great. Just do it exactly that." Robin beamed.

"Oh shut up." Alice said, lightly shoving her.

"Seriously. Do it properly this time." Robin insisted.

"Okay, okay." Alice took a breath, putting on a proper smile that still seemed somewhat strained. "Papa, I have some good news... That really sounds dumb! Can't I start it another way?"

Robin shrugged. "You could try something like 'Daddy, guess who I'm banging'!"

"We're not too far away for me to throw you back into the water." Alice warned.

"Sorry." Robin laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder again. "How about you just tell him, 'dad, there's someone I'd like you to meet'."

"Maybe..." Alice mumbled, nodding her head. "That actually seems casual and... I think that could work."

Robin pulled her close, squeezing her gently in a half hug. "You shouldn't think too much about it. Just relax and say whatever comes to mind when you're in front of him."

"This is the first time I'm introducing anyone to my dad." Alice said. "I can't relax."

"You wanna talk about it some more?" Robin asked gently.

"I know it's silly to worry, because like you said; he'll be happy so long as I'm happy but... What if he isn't happy with it? What if he doesn't like you? What if you don't like him? What if neither of you likes each other?!" Alice yelped.

"Do you want to hold off on my meeting him?" Robin asked slowly, hoping the hurt didn't show on her face.

"No, I really don't." Alice sighed, clinging to Robin's arm. "I'm just scared. Like really scared. Papa and I... For the longest time it was just me and him. Now things are so different and we're different and... I feel like I don't know him the way I used to and that scares me. I don't like not knowing how people will react to things."

"Things may be different but you still are and will always be his little girl. No matter how different he may be, he will always be your dad and you don't need to worry so much. You're going to make yourself sick." Robin said, looking a little worried. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to do it so soon after all.

"Yeah, his little girl..." Alice mumbled. "That's part of what worries me."

They had been talking for so long, they hadn't even realised that they were reaching the edge of town until they heard Henry Mills' voice as he called after his fiancée, Jacinda, to wait for him on their way passed a cluster of trees. Both girls paused and waited out of sight until the two lovers voices had faded in the distance before Alice automatically began to lead Robin around the town towards camp where her fathers tent was set up. It was at the very back, a little away from the others for some much desired privacy and Alice had visited him more than once in the past, either to drop something off, pick something up or simply check in to make sure he was still doing alright. Even if they couldn't truly be together, that didn't mean she couldn't check in on him occasionally to make sure he was doing alright, and vice verse when he had a spare moment to find her. It was always nice, even if their visits were always far too short for father or daughters liking.

They came to a stop on a slight hill, looking down at the camp while still standing side by side, holding hands and almost silent for a stretched out moment. Robin glanced to Alice, squeezing her hand before looking back down to the camp. It was mid day but the area was almost completely deserted, most people probably in their tents for some peace and quiet or taking a stroll down to the town for lunch.

"Do you want me to come in with you?" Robin asked finally.

"No, I should go in alone first. But... Could you stay close?" Alice asked, turning and placing both her hand over Robin's. "Please?"

"Of course." Robin nodded, clinging to her for a moment. "You'll see, everything will be fine." She leaned forward, pecking Alice's lips softly.

"I'll be back." Alice said, breathing shakily and wishing she had as much confidence as Robin did.

Turning away from her girlfriend, Alice began to walk down towards the tent with legs that felt like the were going to fold out underneath her. When she reached the tent, she still found herself hesitating, reaching a hand out for the flap only to see that she was shaking incredibly. Wincing, Alice grabbed her hand and squeezed her fingers tightly to cover the shakes, her skin feeling ice cold against her sweaty palms. She glanced back over her shoulder to see Robin still standing on the edge of town, partially hidden by the trees and smiling softly down at her, giving a small thumbs up of encouragement. Alice returned the thumbs up with a soft shaky smile that she probably couldn't see very well, but one that she still hoped didn't look as sickly like it felt. Then she turned around and forced herself to take the last few steps, pushing into the tent before she had another chance to second guess herself.

Inside the tent, her fathers space was small and mostly empty. He didn't have very many personal objects and they all packed a little light anyway, if only so that when things turned sour they could take a quick escape. The small space did have a soft fur rug spread out over the rough ground, and hard camper bench with thin sheets and pillows laid out over the top, along with a bedside cabinet that held a single burned down candle on the top and a chest of his more personal items – clothing as well as spare weapons – pushed to the side out of the way. The chest was locked with an old fashion clamp that had been touched up with Regina's magic so that no one could open it but Killian or a direct family relative. That should mean that Alice could open it in theory but she stayed away, knowing it had nothing of interest to her, and if she wanted anything she would just ask Killian for it rather than steal from him.

Speaking of which, the man in question didn't appear to be home at the moment. Her already knotted stomach tightened even worse to the point where it physically hurt. The idea that she was going to have to wait around for an unknown amount of time until she saw him was making her feel sick. The longer it took for him to come back, the longer her over active imagination had to freak her out and make her second guess everything. Part of her wondered if she should just head back up to Robin, tell her he wasn't here and that they should just come back another day when he was. It would give her time to rethink what she wanted to say to him at least.

No. She couldn't walk away from this. Despite her nerves and despite the tiny voice in her head that was screaming at her to run away and hide like a child, a bigger part of her wanted to get it out. Alice wanted to share the greatest thing to happen in her life with her the only other important person in her life. She wanted to be able to show Robin off and brag about her. After all this time, Alice was so tired of letting her own anxiety trick her into waiting and holding back...

"Alice."

If Alice's throat hadn't been knotted so tightly, she might have screamed in surprise. Instead she managed a soft squeak and jumped in the air, spinning around to find Killian standing in the tent flap, watching her with a shocked but incredibly pleased expression on his face. So pleased that she had to fight the urge to instinctively run and hug him and she could see that she wasn't alone. He had a spark in his eye that said everything his lips couldn't. He wanted to run and hold her just as much as she did him. But instead he stood back, and simply smiled softly. Somehow that felt like a slap on the face and Alice fought back the urge to cry over it.

"Papa..." Alice smiled back, momentarily forgetting why she had come.

"What are you doing here?" Killian laughed, then his expression froze and his smile dropped. This was the first time she had shown up unannounced, waiting for him in his tent. Normally she sent word ahead when she was visiting, as a safety precaution. "Is something wrong? Did something happen? Do you need help?"

"No, papa, no, everything's fine." Alice said quickly, holding her hands out. "Actually... Um... It's good news."

"Good news?" Killian blinked.

"I... I've met someone." Alice blurted, the thudding in her chest finally eased off and the tightness in her throat faded so that breathing was no longer the great struggle it was a few seconds ago.

Killian's face only paused for a moment of confusion as he figured out what she meant. But then it immediately broke out into a great, all teeth showing smile, and he unconsciously took a large step forward before stopping himself short sharply, wincing and attempting to turn the step into a casual shuffle to sit on top of his chest, ducking her head slightly in shame at his thoughtless action.

"Alice..." Killian said slowly, looking up at her with a soft smile. "That's wonderful. I'm so happy for you!"

"Really?" Alice whispered, feeling breathless.

"Yes! I'm so pleased!" Killian nodded, reaching a hand out, waving at the air in front of them. "Love is the most greatest gift you could ever receive." He hesitated. "I mean, if it's love. Is it? Or..."

"Yes." Alice nodded, a few tears of happiness building in her eyes. "It's love."

"That's amazing." Killian grinned at her for a moment then shook his head. "So, when can I meet him?!"

 _Him_? Alice throat tightened back so much that she nearly passed our. Her stomach dropped and her chest heaved. Her papa thought she was dating a guy.

 _Correct him!_ A voice in Alice's head screamed and she instinctively opened her mouth to say something but Killian kept talking over her before she could.

"I'll have to give him the once over." Killian noted with a teasing smile. "Make sure he's good enough for you, of course."

 _Correct him!_ The voice screamed again and once again Alice opened her mouth, more nervous and slower this time.

But still Killian, in his newfound excitement, stood up, moving as close to her as he dared and kept going. "I am so happy for you, Alice. I'll admit, I worried about you so much, being out there on your own. It's good to know that you have a special someone watching out for you, keeping you safe and even just being a companion. I know you can take care of yourself but... It's just easier knowing that now there's another guy who's going to be there for you. And I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I both dreamt and feared about the day a boyfriend would come and sweep you off your feet away from me."

"You dreamt about it?" Alice asked quietly, a sharp burning taste building in the back of her throat.

"Of course!" Killian laughed. "Every father dreams about the day he can meet the boy who stole his daughters heart."

"Oh..." Alice mumbled, swallowing back the bile.

"So what's his name?" Killian asked, mistaking Alice's discomfort for shyness.

"Robin..." Alice said quietly.

"When can I meet him?" Killian asked again, still smiling.

"Soon..." Alice mumbled, shuffling on the spot and wishing she had never come out today. This was just one great big mistake. What would he say when she told him that his dreams weren't going to come true? That she had no interest in being with a guy, ever. He wouldn't be disappointed, would he? Well he couldn't be as happy as he was thinking it was a guy, not if this was something he had been thinking about for all this time. Not just thinking about, but _dreaming_ about it. That was the word he used.

"Alice?" Killian asked, his face melting into concern as he finally realised Alice wasn't embarrassed. She was upset. "What's wrong?"

"I'm... I feel sick. I'm sorry, papa!" The last word came out as a sob and Alice turned, running from the tent.

"Alice! Wait!" Killian shouted, reaching for her and stopping short at a very slight pain to his chest. Instead he was forced to watch her leave, watch her run, and unable to do anything to stop or help her. All because of their damn curse.

O*U*A*T

"Alice?" Robin blinked, watching the girl run all the way from her fathers tent and up the hill before she threw herself into her loves arms, bursting into harsh sobs that instantly made Robin want to run down the hill and start firing arrows at whoever hurt her. Instead, she forced herself to remain where she was and returned Alice's embrace, holding her close and quelling the angry panic building inside her. "Alice, what's wrong? What happened?!"

Alice was crying too hard to respond at first, which only made Robin both more worried and more angry. It couldn't have been her father. Robin may not have met him personally, but Alice talked about him all the time. He would never say or do anything to hurt his daughter like this. All Alice's worry earlier had simply been a paranoid fear, but it can't have come true. It had to be someone else. But who? Robin had to find out, because when she did, she was going to do things her mother wouldn't approve of.

"Alice, talk to me." Robin begged, turning and pressed her lips close to her ear. "Please, tell me what happened, please."

"I-I-I don't..." Alice started finally, choking through her sobs. "This is so... Stupid!" She gasped, keeping her face hidden in Robin's shoulder so she couldn't look her in her tear filled eyes. "I don't want... I don't want to upset him and... And... But... He... He thinks..."

"Alice, calm down." Robin said, kissing her cheek and hugging her close. "Just calm down, shh. Just breath, okay." She reaching to stroked her fingers through Alice's hair gently like her mother did for her when she was upset, looking back down to the camp with a glare, trying to spot whoever had upset her. Only Alice had come directly from Killian's tent and it was Killian who stepped out after her, looking positively devastated and desperate. Instinctively, until Robin could figure out what had happened, she pulled Alice to hide behind one of the trees so that her father couldn't see them right now. Someone else had to be in the tent, the someone who had upset Alice, but until she knew who, she wanted a few minutes alone with her uninterrupted. "Alice, please, darling, tell me what's wrong? What happened?"

"I think... He... He thinks... Oh shit!" Alice shouted, pulling back to lean against the tree, pressing her hands against her face like she was just barely holding herself together. "I messed it all up."

"Why? Alice what did you do to mess up? Talk to me." Robin begged, gently putting her hands on Alice's elbow, giving her space but holding into her at the same time.

Alice finally lifted her head, her shaking sobs finally easing off enough for her to talk. Tears continued to fill her eyes and she sniffed loudly every few seconds, shrugging her shoulders and looking away for a moment. "He thinks you're a guy." Alice finally said, glancing back at Robin meekly.

"Wait, what?" Robin laughed, moving back slightly.

"It's not funny!" Alice snapped. "He said he always dreamt of me finding a guy one day! A _guy_!"

Robin's smile vanished. She quickly grabbed Alice's arms again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh."

Alice shrugged miserably. "What am I going to do? He went on and on about how he hoped for me to find a guy one day."

The last of Robin's humour at this mix up disappeared completely. She understood why this would upset Alice so much. If he chattered about how happy he was for her to find a guy, even the most calm and confident of lesbians could be a little put out by it. And it certainly didn't help that Alice had already been panicking about telling him in the first place.

"Sometimes people put their foot in their mouths without even realising it." Robin said slowly. "Your dad probably wasn't even thinking."

Alice shut her eyes and shook her head. "You didn't hear him. He was so excited."

"Because you'd found someone, I'm sure." Robin insisted.

Once again she shook her head, blinking hard and pressing her lips together tightly. "What if he's disappointed?"

"You really think he will be? You said he was so excited, do you really think he'll be disappointed just because you're with a girl instead of a guy?" Robin asked, reaching to brush some tears from her chin.

Alice hesitated, then shrugged weakly. She was quiet for a moment, thinking it over, before she suddenly shook her head violently and put her face back in her hands. "God, I over reacted big time, didn't I?"

"No." Robin said softly. "You didn't. I think I'd be gutted if mum told me how she had been waiting for the day I would find a man. But sometimes people say the wrong thing. And sometimes they say it at the worst possible time. The best thing to do is clear it up right away."

"But I ran away." Alice mumbled, sniffing and wiping her eyes on the back of her hands.

"Not very far." Robin noted softly. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a fresh pieces of material she normally saved for cleaning her arrows after a hunt. She'd just washed it yesterday so it hadn't been used and now she gently wiped it over her face to help Alice clean up. "You can go back..." Robin hesitated then added. "Or I could?"

"What?" Alice hadn't been expecting that.

"Let me go and talk to him. I'll clear it all up. And I'd like officially meet him, too." Robin smiled.

"I should..." Alice mumbled, though, if she was being honest with herself, she didn't think she had the strength to at the moment.

"You should stay here, calm yourself down and relax for a bit." Robin insisted. "At least until you're ready." She hesitated, then added; "Please. I want to do this. Let me do this."

Alice hesitated again, then stepped forward and hugged her. "Tell him I'm sorry I ran off..."

"I will." Robin promised. She pulled away, kissing Alice softly before turning and starting down the hill. Alice hesitated, peeking around the tree to watch her go. From the angle she stood, it was hard to see much and after Robin had faded from her sight, and Alice slowly sat down on the ground, feeling exhausted and ready to call quits on this entire day.

Meanwhile, Robin jogged lightly down the hill as quickly as she could, trying not to scowl so much on the way. Despite a part of her knowing that it was probably just a big misunderstanding, and despite knowing everything Alice had told her and how much Alice loved her father, Robin couldn't help but feel a little more than irritated by him. Maybe he didn't mean to, but the fact was, he still made the woman Robin love cry! He still upset her! And a part of Robin wanted to swing her bow around like a club and hit him upside the head for it!

As she reached the bottom she glanced around, but Killian had now disappeared. Either in search of Alice or back to his tent. Good, it would give Robin a little more time to calm down before she did something stupid when she saw him. Despite everything, she knew Alice wouldn't appreciate her actually hurting her father, even if she was doing it to for her.

First she checked his tent, but that was deserted as she had expected it to be. Robin couldn't see Alice's father as the type to go back and sit around while his daughter was so obviously upset. More likely he had gone into town and was searching for her, or someone who had seen her. After taking one last glance up to where Alice was waiting – she couldn't see her but she knew she was still up there – Robin turned to head into town in search of Alice's beloved father and clear up this mess.

It was a small town, Robin had passed it a few times but had never actually entered it before. On the rare occasion that her mother couldn't just wave her hand and conjure whatever it was she needed, Robin went to town that was closer to her home and actually quite bigger with more stalls and friendlier staff that she had gotten to know quite well over the years. If she was there, it would have been easy to spot the out of place pirate, but here she had no choice but to wander to the people passing her by and ask them if they had seen him.

"Excuse me," Robin said, catching a woman with dark curly hair. "Have you seen a guy with a hook come by here?"

"You mean Killian?" The woman asked.

"Yes." Robin nodded quickly. "Have you seen him?"

"He just ran passed. Is everything okay?" She asked. "He looked pretty upset."

"I'm just going to find out." Robin said. This woman obviously knew Alice's dad, but since Robin didn't know her, she wasn't comfortable spilling their dramatic story to her right now. And she still needed to hurry if she was going to catch up with Killain. "Thanks!" She called as she started to jog down the path.

It was starting to get busier the further she went in, making it harder to spot a single man among the crowds. The most she could see was the tops of their heads, and far too many men had short black hair here. The one thing that might make him stand out was his hook hand but, unfortunately, that was the one thing that was subtly hidden by his side. Robin began to push through the crowd, asking people at random but it seemed fewer and fewer people had seen him. She just began to wonder if he had gone in a different direction when someone grabbed her arm and spun her around.

"Robin?" The woman grabbing her said in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Aunt Regina," Robin smiled. "Hey. Um, I'm looking for someone. He's got a hook for a hand. Names Killain-"

"-Jones." Regina finished with her, frowning slightly at her. "Why are you looking for him? I didn't know you two knew each other."

"We don't, actually." Robin admitted. She wanted to be careful with what she said. Regina didn't know about her relationship as far as Robin knew, or at least she hadn't mentioned if Zelena had told her yet, and now wasn't the time to fill her in. She needed to find Killian first for Alice's sake. "I know a friend of his and I need to pass on a message."

"Alright, well, I can take you to him if you'd like." Regina offered.

"Really? Oh thanks, aunt Regina." Robin beamed gratefully.

"No problem." Regina grinned. "Come on, he came down this way."

Robin followed Regina down through the market towards the other end of town. It turned out that he often came down to this open area when he needed to think and be alone. Robin wondered if they might be intruding but, as usual, aunt Regina took over and marched ahead like she owned the planet, striding straight up to Killian and pulling Robin along behind her.

"Killian." Regina called.

When he turned around, Robin almost felt sorry for him. He looked generally upset. Miserable even. The only thing keeping Robin from truly feeling sorry for him was that she was still secretly angry with how he had managed to upset Alice, even if he hadn't meant to. But his pouting face did keep Robin from glaring at him at least.

"Killian," Regina continued, either unaware of how miserable Killian looked or simply not caring. "I'd like you to meet someone." She turned and proudly waved a hand dramatically. "This is my niece, Robin."

Killian looked up at her, a half smile and greeting on his lips. He even reached to shake her hand, and then seemed to pause, frowning at her. Robin smiled stiffly and waited. She could practically see the clogs rolling in his head as he put two and two together, everything clicking into place before the realisation slowly dawned on him. And Robin truly meant slowly. It was like someone had cast a spell on him that kept him from moving at full speed. His eyebrows raising and his mouth slowly dropping open into an O shape, his eyes eventually lighting up as the last of the realisation finally settled in.

"Robin." He half whispered, half croaked, completely forgetting Regina was even there and taking a step towards the younger girl. "You're Robin?"

Robin smiled tightly at him. "Alice says... She's sorry she ran off."

"Am I missing something?" Regina asked, looking back and forth between them.

But neither Robin nor Killian answered her. Instead Killian's face seemed to go through the five stages of grief except in reverse. His shocked expression melted into one of happy acceptance, only to turn back into his earlier anguish and confusion, then transformed into something Robin hadn't expected: Anger.

"God damn it!" He shouted, turning and swinging his arm like he wanted to hit something, except there was nothing around within reach except for the two women and himself. In the end he let out an angry roar and ran his hand through his hair, practically storming in a circle and cursing to himself. "I'm an idiot!" He snapped. "I'm a damn fool!"

"Will someone tell me what is going on?" Regina demanded.

But still they ignored her. Robin wanted to explain but she was still a little taken back by Killian's reaction. It was both a little amusing and a little worrying. She had an urge to tell him it was okay, but every time she opened her mouth to do so, a flash of Alice crying into her shoulder popped into her head and she stubbornly shut it again.

"You're _Robin_!" Killian shouted, turning to look at her and waving a hand at her. "You're _Alice's_ Robin?!"

Robin smiled tightly, a little embarrassed, shrugging her shoulders. She didn't even need to say anything before Killian broke into another angry wordless shout.

"Wait, what?" Regina blinked. It seemed Zelena hadn't told her anything after all. She looked at Robin in surprise. "What does he mean 'Alice's Robin'? What am I missing?!" She shouted, clearly confused.

"I think, maybe, we should talk." Robin said to Killian. "Alice was pretty upset. And I guess you know why."

Killian sighed, hand still flexing angrily. "Because I'm an stupid idiot, who prattled on rather than listening to her?"

Robin nodded. "Basically. Yeah."

Killian looked at her sharply with a little frowned, like he had been expecting her to deny it, before he smiled at her and nodded his head. "Basically." He agreed.

He and Robin shared a small ironic smile. Just as Regina forcible stood in between them, blocking their view of each other. "What the hell is going on?!" She shouted.

O*U*A*T

"Zelena." Regina growled angrily. "I can't believe her! She told me you were seeing someone but she didn't say it was Alice!"

They were walking back to Killian's tent, and despite Robin meaning to talk with Killian about Alice, she had to pause it in order to fill her aunt in on her love life. It was probably a good thing. Considering Killian still seemed to be processing how he had made a fool out of himself and upset Alice all in one go. Every now and then he paused to growl at himself or swear under his breath, and he was clearly just barely holding himself back from breaking into a run in order to find Alice as soon as possible and only because he didn't actually know where she was hiding. Robin shouldn't have been so hard on him earlier. It seemed he was beating himself up for her.

"I didn't even know you knew Alice." Robin admitted.

"Well I don't know her that well. I've only met her a handful of times and most of that was just brief glances from a distance." Regina explained.

They were getting closer to Killian's tent now. Robin glanced to her loves father, who was still visibly wincing at the memory of his screw up by jumping to conclusions right in front of her.

"I'm gonna go grab Alice. You guys should talk." Robin explained.

"Yes!" Killian practically shouted then begged. "Yes, please, get her. I need to talk to her right away."

"Of course." Robin nodded.

She turned to head up the hill. "Wait!" Killian called. "Can you give her something from me when you see her?"

"Um, she's not far and I'll bring her right down, so you can give it to her yourself." Robin said with a half shrug.

"I can't." Killian said painfully. "So could you, please?"

"Sure, I guess." Robin nodded awkwardly, not understanding what he meant until he gave her what he wanted her to give Alice. Then she understood completely.

At the top of the hill, Alice felt cold, and not because of the weather. She leaned against the tree, picking at her thumb nail and biting the corner of her lip. There were drying tear streaks down her cheeks, and she kept sniffing long after she had stopped crying, but the cold pit in her stomach was as heavy as ever. It felt like Robin had just left when she returned, but then Alice had filled up the time rethinking what her father had said to her. She knew she had overreacted and should have stayed and explained things like a rational person, but Alice had been anything but rational at the time. Her father, and Robin as of late, had a unique ability to bring out the craziest parts of Alice, especially when she was nervous and anxious to the point of freaking out over little stupid things, like, oh, say, her father getting the gender of her true love mixed up.

"Hey," Robin said softly, coming to stand in front of her. "You okay?"

"Apart from feeling dumb? Yeah." Alice said, smiling sadly up at her.

"You shouldn't feel dumb." Robin said, reaching down to pull her up onto her feet. "I talked to your dad. Now _he_ feels dumb. He's been cursing himself for being stupid for at least ten minutes straight."

"Really?" Alice laughed weakly. "I can't imagine him cursing at all."

"Well, as of today, that's all I can imagine him doing." Robin grinned. Then smiled softly. "He also wants me to give you something before we both go and see him, together."

"What is it?" Alice blinked.

"This." Robin said, and moved forward, hugging Alice close. She squeezed gently, and clung to her for an extra few seconds longer before finally letting go.

When she did, she saw tears in Alice's eyes but thankfully these were joined with a genuine happy smile. "Thanks, Robin." She whispered.

"You're welcome." Robin said, kissing her softly. When she pulled away her smile dropped. "That kiss was from me, by the way. Not your dad."

Alice laughed, grabbing Robin and kissing her back. "I... Really... Love you." Alice said quietly.

"I really love you, too." Robin whispered, holding her hands and gently rubbing a thumb over Alice's knuckles. "Now let's go see your dad."

Alice took a shaky breath, nodding her head. She clung onto Robin's hand. "Why do I feel like I'm about to walk down the isle or something really serious? I feel so nervous."

"Don't be." Robin said confidentially. "Your dad loves you. And he's happy for you. The only thing you should be worried about is that aunt Regina is down there as well, and she's just found out and I think we're about to see a similar reaction to what my mum gave."

Alice was still smiling and laughing as Robin turned and began to guide her from around the tree. Her smile froze when she saw her father waiting for her and, like every other time, Alice had to fight the urge to run into his arms. The hug that he passed on through Robin was wonderful but when it came down to it, it was still a Robin hug. And Alice wanted a papa hug.

Robin gently tugged her along, bringing her down the hill where Regina and Killian were hanging around outside his tent. They were all thankful that it was practically deserted at this end of the camp, giving them the privacy they needed.

When they were close enough, Killian took a step towards her, as close as he dared get and even then Alice half stepped behind Robin just in case. Things hadn't gone to plan today and she didn't want it to get worse by accidentally sending her father reeling in pain from their curse.

"Alice. I am so-" Killian began.

"Papa." Alice interrupted, swallowing hard before he could apologise. "I'd like you to meet someone. This is my girlfriend; Robin."

Killian paused and smiled at her, silently agreeing to pretend the scene in his tent never happened, before he looked at Robin. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Robin." He looked back at Alice. "I can see you make Alice very happy. And I am so pleased. I always dreamt Alice would find someone special. And I have to admit... I'm glad it's with a nice girl rather than a some scumbag boy."

Robin smiled and Alice felt her whole body sag in relief. She even managed a giggle at his comment and bit her lip out of habit. As her nerves grew less tense, Alice allowed herself to step out from behind of Robin and stand in front of her father properly.

"Just so we're clear, if you go all protective dad and give my niece a hard time, I will take your other hand." Regina said suddenly.

"Did I even say anything?" Killian said defensively.

"You're forgetting, I know you." Regina said sharply.

"No, you know an alternative version of me. Not the same people." Killian argued.

"Well technically you are." Regina noted with a little confused frown.

Both Alice and Robin shared a puzzled look and let their family argue for a few more seconds before they both dissolved into giggles. Still holding onto one another they tried to smother their laughter before they drew attention but failed immediately. Luckily their laughter did finally shut up their father and aunt from their almost argument over whether or not Regina knew this Killian simply because she knew an alternative one.

"Why don't we find somewhere we can sit down and talk. You two can tell us all about how you met." Regina said, smiling fondly at the girls.

"Yes, I'm sure, knowing how things usually go, it's a long and fascinating story." Killian said cheerfully.

"Knowing how things usually go, one of them probably hit the other upside the head with a blunt object." Regina noted dryly.

"Funny you should mention, aunt Regina." Robin chuckled.

"You hit my daughter?" Killian snapped, his cheerful expression vanishing in an instant to be replaced with something much more protective.

"Actually, papa..." Alice winced, shrugging her shoulders shyly.

"Typical." Regina said teasingly, rolling her eyes.

Meanwhile, beside her, Killian beamed. "That's my girl."

"So when its my niece hitting yours, you nearly go for her throat. But when your daughter hits mine, it's a proud moment?" Regina demanded.

"I'm her father!" He said defensively.

"You're an idiot." Regina said, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

"Well this is fun," Robin said quietly to Alice, looking thoroughly amused.

"Papa." Alice said, fighting giggles.

"Are you two done?" Robin said, raising an eyebrow.

"Right!" Regina nodded. "Not the time."

"Sorry, love." Killian said, nodding his head and wincing. "Keep putting my foot in it today."

"That's okay, papa." Alice smiled softly. "I'm just really glad I could introduce you to Robin."

"And I am so glad to meet her." Killian said, smiling back at her. "I'm really am so happy for you, Alice. And when we break this curse, we can be together again. But until then, I'm so relieved you have Robin looking out for you."

Once again a mixture of emotions and desires ran through Alice in seconds. She wanted to cry and laugh at the same time, and another part wanted to just babble her and Robin's story, and most of all, she wanted to hug her father. But she couldn't. So instead she turned and put her arms around Robin for comfort, still smiling at Killian as she felt Robin return her hug and kiss her gently on the cheek.

"Come on," Regina said happily. "I still want the story, even if you assaulted my niece, which will not be forgotten, by the way." She pointed an accusatory finger at her.

"Don't be mean to my Alice, aunt Regina." Robin said protectively.

"I know the perfect place we can be alone." Killian offered, then waved a hand for them to start walking. He moved so he could walk beside Alice – even though they had to keep a fair bit of space between them the whole way – smiling down at her constantly like he just couldn't stop. Every time he looked away it was only for a few seconds before he somehow turned to stare back down at her, grinning all over again.

Regina moved to walk on the other side of the girls, putting an arm over Robin's shoulder and being very much the same with her niece (though thankfully her smile wasn't as manic as Zelena's had been). And all the while they walked down the market, even when things got crowded and they had to step behind one another in order to make room, Robin held tightly onto Alice's hand, like she was never going to let go. Alice was thankful. Despite her fathers loving smile, her legs still felt weak and she was sure that if Robin hadn't been holding onto her the whole time then she wouldn't have made it.

Through the woman she loved, Alice had somehow gone from only having her father in her life to having a family that seemed to be growing constantly. First with Zelena and now maybe even Regina (once she had forgiven her for the incident with her and Robin's first meeting, at least) and it was more than Alice could have ever dreamt she would have back in her days of being alone or cursed. Hours ago she had been in tears, feeling like she wanted to run away from the world, and now she couldn't stop grinning. Even when her father had to make quick side steps to avoid accidentally getting too close to her, once again reminding her that they still couldn't quite be together, the fact that he was here was at least one small gift.

Even if Alice couldn't physically hug her father right now, having Robin on one side and Killian on the other made this the greatest moment of her life. The two people she loved most were at her side.

"So," Regina said as they all found a soft spot to sit down in the field that Robin had earlier found Killian moping in. "Your story..."

"Yes!" Killian said, still smiling sappily at his daughter. "Let's hear it."


	3. Zelena & Killian

The last few days had been wonderful, hot sunny weather, perfect for going for long walks or swims or a general lazy day out. Unfortunately, those kind of days had to come to an end eventually. And it was just Killian's luck that the nice days came to an end just as he decided to go for a long walk to meet his daughters love's mother. In fact it was one of the worst days they had in a long while, rain coming down in buckets at a time and dark clouds that swirled overhead, threatening a nasty storm at any moment, along with a strong wind that repeatedly tried to knock him off his feet every time he took a step forward.

Part of him considered just turning back around, doing this whole trip another day instead, but a bigger part of him was too stubborn to call it quits after he had already come so far. In fact he was much closer to Zelena's house than he was camp at this point anyway. It'd just make his journey even longer if he turned back now. No, he knew he might as well keep going, even if his feet were sinking deeper and deeper into the mud as it grew constantly softer under the rains endless wash, leaving thick brown and green stained puddles every three steps he took. It was beginning to feel as sticky and soft as quick sand. It made walking twice as hard and he struggled to drag himself forward, ripping his boots out of the earth and charging ahead a little faster in hopes of getting out of the wet weather as quickly as he could.

When he approached the gates of Zelena's farm, he was surprised to find a woman waiting for him just on the other side. He hadn't told anyone he was coming, in fact he had gone out of his way to get the location of her home in secret so that this would be a private moment between the two of them. Yet it seemed that was all for nought as the woman that could only be Zelena stood on the other side of the gate, umbrella hanging overhead, watching and waiting for him patiently like it was an arranged meeting they had planned in advance.

Killian approached slightly quicker now, putting on a friendly smile that he hoped didn't look too pathetic on his dampened, water dripping face. He reached up, pushing the hair stuck to his skin out of the way of his forehead, knowing it did little to help fix up his appearance, before coming to a stop a decent way away from her and the gate, allowing her some space. He didn't want to frighten her by just charging into her home like it was his own.

"Zelena Mills?" Killian asked, holding out a hand and moving slightly closer. "My name's-"

"I know who you are." Zelena interrupted calmly. "I've met your other self. And Regina told me you were coming."

"How did Regina know?" Killian blinked, taken aback.

"She had a feeling you'd want to talk and after you disappeared today, she took an educated guess." Zelena explained. "She's annoyingly intuitive like that sometimes."

"I see." Killian chuckled, then waved his hooked hand slightly. "May I come in? Out of the rain, I mean."

Zelena hesitated for a second, though it was impossible for Killian to tell what she was thinking. In fact she had an almost expert poker face as she looked him up and down in a way that made him feel like he was in an interview where she was deciding whether or not to give him a chance and he had no idea which way she was going to go. When a long few seconds had passed, she reached down, unlocking and pulling the gate open, silently waving a hand for him to enter. After he stepped passed she quickly locked the gate back up behind him and began to lead Killian towards her small home not far off.

She must have placed a layer of magic over the fields around her home, as the ground underneath him was hit with as much rain as anywhere else, yet the dirt and mud remained solid under his feet. Neither of them sank with each step, almost like they walked along a bridge of concrete. When he glanced around he saw much of the area was the same, not necessarily rock hard but definitely firm. And even the animal pens seemed to be mostly protected from everything but the slightest spit down of rain, refreshing them without freezing them when they ventured outside of their shelters. It was impressive.

As they came closer to the house, Killian found himself more interested in Zelena than he was her home. She wasn't what he had expected. Regina had told him a little of her, and Robin had spoke of her as well, but neither had included detailed descriptions. For some reason he had expected a taller, older version of Robin. A woman who could easily have been mistaken for her twin except maybe with darker hair like her actual sister. Instead there were similarities, but also many obvious differences. One of which being as simple as the way she held herself. Robin moved like that of a huntress. Stealthy and quietly, keeping her head down and blending in with the world around it. Zelena walked very much like Regina did. Like a queen. She had her head held high and strode like the rest of the world would fold out of her way naturally. It wasn't egotistical either. Just... Proud was probably the best word for it.

Once inside, she lowered her umbrella and tucked it out of the way in the corner by the door, moving silently into the far room on the right while Killian was left to hover in the doorway, unsure if he should be removing his mucky boots before walking any further into her home. But on the other hand, the walk here hadn't been easy and needless to say his feet had grown increasingly hot during the travel and it might be more rude to take them off.

In the end he kicked and scraped as much of the dirt off as he could on the door frame outside and pulled off his dripping coat, hanging it away from the others on one of the hangers by the wall. When Zelena didn't make a reappearance, he followed her through into the same room which turned out to be the kitchen.

"Tea?" Zelena asked, not looking up as she made herself a drink by the window.

"Water, if I may?" Killian asked. "Never quite got a taste for tea, to be honest."

Zelena smirked, glancing over to him. "The Killian I know would have asked for rum."

"Well we're not the same person." Killian said, a little stiffly now. He knew it must be weird for them, but he was still getting a little tired of repeating himself. "I haven't had a drink of rum for years now and I don't plan on starting up again any time soon."

"Fair enough," Zelena said, filling a glass with cold water and holding it out to him. "So what brings you to my home, Not-Killian."

"Just Killian would be fine." Killian said pointedly. "And I thought that it was time we met. Considering our daughters are... Together."

Zelena turned around, holding her tea in between her hands close to her lips and raised an eyebrow at him. "Disappointed?"

Killian scowled, unsure how to take that. "No. Why would I be?" He demanded.

She shrugged. "You'd be surprised how some people would react to finding out their daughter was dating someone related to the Wicked Witch."

"The Wicked Witch?" Killian blinked. "Can't say I've ever heard of you before so there's no reason to be disappointed."

Zelena looked suddenly offended. "So what? I'm just not in your world? You've got to be kidding me. I'm infamous in the Land of Oz."

"Well, sorry, but I've never heard of that place either. And I've travelled a lot in my time." Killian explained.

"Why am I not surprised." Zelena grumbled, pushing away from the counter tops. "Anyway. I'm sure you didn't just come here in the pouring rain for a simple introduction."

Killian wondered what had happened in this woman's life to make her so sceptical of people. She seemed like she was just expecting the outright worse from him. Maybe it had something to do with his Other Self, but Regina hadn't told him much about her sister. Nothing to imply that they had any kind of a relationship, negative or otherwise in that other world.

"Well," Killian said slowly. "While we're on the subject, maybe we should get the obvious out of the way. I'm not here to threaten you or your child, but Robin being a girl won't stop me from protecting Alice if she ever hurts her."

Zelena snorted loudly. "Oh, I see. So you've come to play the role of protective pappy." She sneered. "Well you can just reel it in there, Pirate. Not only would Robin never hurt anyone, least of all the girl she's seeing romantically, but I'm pretty sure Alice could take care of herself if anything did happen between them."

"You don't know Alice." Killian said sharply. "She puts on a strong front but she's been through hell. She's lived her whole life trapped in a tower, and then we had the curse put on us so we couldn't even be together, and still can't. I was forced to abandon her in that tower so that she had to find a way to escape all on her own, and even after she escaped, she was still alone, having to travel by herself with no idea what the outside world was really like. She's not as tough as she likes people to think. She's a sweet girl inside, one who is spooked by little things and alone more than anyone else even when she's with people." He came to a stop and took a slow breath, feeling embarrassed by his outburst. "Sorry. I just don't want you to overestimate her and get the wrong idea."

"Maybe you should stop underestimating her." Zelena said calmly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Killian frowned.

"It means that she's stronger than you give her credit for." Zelena explained. "I know about her past. I got Robin to tell me everything right after I met her and if you ask me, her past just goes to prove how strong she really is. Because despite all that, she's still smiling. She still laughs. And she still goes on all these adventures. She may have suffered but she hasn't let that suffering get to her. And trust me, I know what I'm talking about." She paused, walking around to lean against the wall closer to him. "Regina may not have told you much about me, but I suffered as a child. My birth mother abandoned me and my adopted father hated me. I let that define me. When I saw what Regina had, I became so jealous that I let myself be consumed by darkness, much like Regina did after her true love was murdered." She paused and smirked. "Much like you."

"Do you have a point?" Killian asked sharply, not liking when he was reminded of his darker past.

"Yes. You, Regina and myself suffered. We had bad childhoods, rough lives growing up, and we allowed ourselves to fall into evil and despair. Meanwhile, Alice has suffered with a bad childhood and a rough life growing up, yet she hasn't even once considered the darker side of life. She's still seeing the good in people, she's still finding love and happiness. She's still fighting for what she wants without hurting anyone else in the process." Zelena shrugged, raising an eyebrow as she took a sip of her tea. "She's a lot stronger than you give credit for. You're a father, so you're going to worry. I'm just saying maybe you don't need to, at least not so much."

Killian found himself temporarily speechless. When he finally found his voice, he looked down shamefully. "I suppose I didn't think of it like that."

"On top of that," Zelena added. "She's travelled all over and faced plenty of adventures. So she clearly can take care of herself physically as well."

Chuckling, Killian nodded. "That is true."

"Come on. If you plan on staying then let's have a seat." Zelena said, leading him into the living room where she took a seat on the sofa, crossing her legs and watching him.

Killian hesitated, again very self conscious about how soaked through he was and what it would do to her furniture, but when Zelena didn't comment he settled down on the edge of one of the sofa seats, glass of water still untouched in his hand.

He felt almost foolish now. He looked at Alice through fatherly eyes, and found he saw her weaknesses more than he did her strengths. He wanted to keep her safe but, the truth was, she had lived a long time without him now thanks to their damn curse. So when it came down to it, maybe she didn't need him to keep her safe any more. Even less now that she had Robin.

Killian found himself saddened by the thought. Even if he didn't see her as much as he liked, he still wasn't ready to let go of being her protector.

"I apologise." Killian said finally. "I-"

"Don't worry about it." Zelena said with another half shrug. "Believe me I understand. But you don't need to worry. If either of us does, it's probably me."

"You? Worry about what?" Killian frowned.

"Robin, of course." Zelena insisted.

Killian shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'm lost. What exactly do you have to worry about Robin for?"

"Alice has proven time and time again that she can take care of herself and handle the harsher aspects of life." Zelena explained. "Robin... Not so much. She grew up pretty sheltered in Storybrooke. I always wanted to protect her." She smiled sadly. "Accept I couldn't. Not always." She sighed, putting her tea on the table. "Robin was bullied a lot all through school, because of who _I_ was... Let's just say I did some things I'm not proud of, including some things to Robin's father, though if it came down to it, I certainly wouldn't change a thing. But these kids at school would torment her with this information and pick on her constantly. I wanted to deal with them myself but Regina convinced me not to. She said it would only make things worse...

"In the end that was part of the reason we left. Robin thought it was because we were both unsatisfied with life but, to be honest, I was fine in Storybrooke. But I knew she wasn't. So I moved her here. And she was happier but... Because of the move, she's never had many real friends. After being bullied in school and coming here, she's been very isolated from other people her age." She looked at Killian. "Alice can handle rejection and the harsher bits of life because she's lived through it. Robin has never had to even think about those things. If Alice, or anyone else let's say, were to hurt her... I honestly don't know how she'd react." She shook her head sadly. "She may not have suffered as much as Alice but that doesn't mean her whole life has been easy."

Killian listened to Zelena talk, nodding slowly. He could somewhat understand what Zelena was trying to say. Being unprepared for heartache was almost as bad as suffering it constantly.

"You said I underestimate Alice..." Killian said slowly, wording his thoughts carefully in case he offended her. "Well. I think you underestimate Robin."

"Oh this ought to be good." Zelena sneered. "Tell me, pirate. How do I underestimate Robin? And do remember that, unlike you, I haven't missed any time with my child."

Killian gave her a cold look. One that told her she may have pushed it a bit far. She hadn't meant it in a mean spirited way, but instead simply factual. After all, it was true.

"You underestimate her," Killian said tensely. "Because you assume that she's unprepared. And maybe she is. But that doesn't mean she'll automatically be weak when it happens. Sometimes strength doesn't come from experience, sometimes it just comes from a secret place inside us that we didn't even know existed." He paused. "I... Made a mistake when Alice first told me about her and Robin." Killian said slowly.

"Oh yes, I heard all about that." Zelena sneered. "Smooth, by the way."

"I made a mistake." Killian said sharply. "And Alice was upset. And it was Robin who came after me. We didn't get much of a chance to talk. I was kicking myself for my mistake. But even in the short time we had, I saw Robin take charge. She didn't let anything phase her, even her own anger, which I could see she had even when she tried to hide it. She was furious, most likely at me for upsetting Alice in the way that I did, but she held it back like the smart and mature young woman that she is, handling it all with ease." He went on. "Maybe Robin isn't prepared, for the worst life has to offer but I don't think that'll be the end of her."

Zelena was quiet. Then shrugged. "Maybe you have a point. Guess we won't know until one of our girls breaks the others heart."

"I don't think that'll happen." Killian said quietly. "I saw the way they looked at each other. I think what they have is true."

"Yeah well, even the truest of loves can end badly." Zelena said quietly and she suddenly had a far away look in her eyes.

"Speaking from experience?" Killian asked.

"Yes." Zelena said unabashed.

"My condolences." Killian said, bowing his head.

"Don't worry about it." Zelena said, waving her hand. "It's in the past. I've moved on."

After that, the two fell into an stretched silence. Killian was unsure of what to say to follow that statement and Zelena didn't seem very interested in filling the conversation on her part. She picked up her drink and took another slow sip, not even looking at him. She might as well have been sitting in the room on her own. Killian wasn't sure if this was just who she was, or if she was caught up in old memories of lost loves.

Looking for something to do, Killian grabbed his water and took a long sip of his own. When he had left the camp this morning with the intention of meeting Robin's mother, he hadn't thought what he would be saying to her when they did meet. Then again, he hadn't much thought about it at all. He'd been so focussed on finding his way, he hadn't given himself a chance to think about anything else, like what he would do after he got here.

"Where are the girls?" Killian asked, simply to fill the silence.

"Out probably." Zelena shrugged. "They're both pretty active. Don't really spend much time at home."

"Yes. Alice doesn't like sitting around for very long. Even back in the tower she loved to climb on the walls every second she wasn't sleeping." Killian chuckled softly.

Zelena smiled – a real smile, too. "Robin was very much the same. The second she learned to walk, she was running. I had to put her in a child harness whenever we went out or else I'd lose her or spend my day using magic to pull her out of the way of cars and other people all the time."

"Guess they are pretty perfect for each other." Killian noted softly.

"I suppose they are." Zelena said, still smiling.

Killian suddenly smirked at her. "You know, if they ever tied the knot, that would technically make us family."

Zelena physically cringed. "Ugh. Don't remind me."

"Is my other self really that bad?" Killian asked, feigning hurt.

"Let's just say that Regina's nickname for your other self was 'Guy-liner'." Zelena stated.

"Well that doesn't really tell me much." Killian shrugged. "She calls me that as well. And several other creative things that make me wonder about my other self."

Zelena allowed herself her first little laugh of the evening, finishing off her tea and placing the empty cup on the table in front of her before sitting back. "That's my baby sister for you."

"If you don't mind me asking, you're Regina's sister but I've never seen you before. Don't you visit her?" Killian asked slowly.

"I visit plenty." Zelena said. "I just don't stride through town on my own feet and make a show of things."

Killian frowned, not understanding. "Oh." He said finally. "You use magic."

With that she was back to her usual smirk. "It comes in handy."

Zelena was definitely an acquired taste and it wasn't one that Killian fancied having to deal with too often, but at the same time he had strangely enjoyed the short visit. But maybe it was best to keep it a short visit. Nodding his head with a small smile of his own, Killian downed the rest of his glass of water and stood up.

"I suppose I should head out. I've disturbed your peace long enough." Killian explained.

"Yes, you have." Zelena said, though she had a playful smile on her lips to show she wasn't completely serious. At least not _completely_.

Even if she had the occasional cold reception, Zelena still stood to formally show him to the door like any good host would. Killian instinctively moved to collect his glass for her but Zelena beat him to it with the wave of her fingers, making all the washing vanish in a small cloud of green smoke without even looking over her shoulder. In the end Killian trailed behind her, both impressed and a little sceptical. (Would it really have been that much of an effort to simply carry it to the room right across the hall?) Maybe it was just a witch thing, though he didn't think even Regina used her magic as much as Zelena seemed to.

At the open door, he could see the rain outside was still pouring heavily but not as heavily as when he had first arrived. At the very least maybe his feet wouldn't sink quite so much when he walked.

"You know," Zelena said just before he stepped outside into the cold. He turned to find her crossed arms and eyeing him with a tight lip like she tasted something foul. "I suppose you're not as bad as the Other Pirate was."

"Really?" Killian raised an eyebrow, unsure of whether or not to take that as a compliment. At least she was accepting him and the other version of him as two separate people.

"Yeah." Zelena nodded slowly, looking him up and down critically again, once again judging him in a way where he had no idea what she was thinking. "Being a father brings out the best in you."

Killian hadn't expected that. He smiled at her. "Thank you."

Zelena nodded, smiling back with another genuine smile. Then suddenly it vanished. "This doesn't make us friends or anything, by the way." She said sharply. "And I dread the day I ever have to introduce you to anyone I know as family."

Chuckling and not the slightest bit offended, Killian shrugged. "Alright then. For what's it's worth, you don't seem nearly as Wicked as your name would let on."

"Oh you don't know me very well at all," Zelena smirked.

With that Killian left for camp and Zelena shut the door behind him. After a moment, two girls appeared from behind one of the thicker trees surrounding the farm, one crouching slightly under the other, watching one of their parents depart while the other returned inside. Both had very confused and slightly worried expressions on their faces.

"What on earth is papa doing leaving your house?" Alice asked.

"I don't know," Robin said uneasily. "But knowing mum, it cannot be good." She looked down at her love. "I apologise in advance."

Alice glanced up at her, half shrugging and half smiling. "Same."


End file.
